Children spared from Holocaust share legacy

Dr. Michael Berenbaum speaks about a variety of Jewish issues from the past as well as in today's world on Sunday. Dr. Berenbaum was the closing keynote speaker at The Kindertransport Association 2012 conference, which was held at the Irvine Marriott over the weekend.ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

"First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me."

Quote by German Pastor Martin Niemoller about the Nazi rise. It was recited by an attendee at Sunday's Kindertransport Association conference in Irvine

IRVINE – When George Fogelson speaks to schools about his mother's experience during the Holocaust, he brings a relative's passport stamped with a "J" for Jew. And he passes around a yellow star Jewish people were forced to wear by the Nazis.

It helps children better grasp what happened. And it's a tool the Redondo Beach resident uses to pass on the story of his mother, one of about 10,000 children spared from Hitler's armies when her parents sent her away to strangers, an effort called the Kindertransport.

Ruth Moll of Beverly Hills shares her experience even more directly. When she volunteers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, she wears the yellow star as a way to spark discussion.

"I call myself walking history," Moll said.

Sharing the story – keeping it alive – is part of the Kindertransport legacy, according to survivors, their children and grandchildren who gathered at the Irvine Marriott Hotel on Sunday for the end of a three-day conference.

About 50 survivors and 75 descendants and supporters attended the event, held for the first time in Orange County. Participants arrived from as far away as New Jersey and England.

One of Sunday's panels focused on the legacy of the children from Germany, Austria, Poland and Czechoslovakia sent away by their families to foreign lands in the late 1930s. Most went to England. Some reunited eventually with their families. Most did not.

So what is their legacy? Participants gave several answers: They have a duty to share their story. Be accepting of others. Be vigilant and have the courage to speak out when they see an injustice. Avoid apathy and promote empathy.

"When something bad takes places," be the first to speak up, said Manfred Lindenbaum, a New Jersey resident who attended with his family. "In Germany, the good people didn't get up and speak."

Lisa Kollisch, a second-generation "kinder" from Philadelphia, said there are opportunities every day "to practice tolerance, acceptance and love. That's also a legacy."

"It's not just about standing for the kid who is bullied. It's how we treat each other," Kollisch said.

To the younger ones in the room, Marion Wolff of San Luis Obispo advised: "Ask the questions now. We're not going to be here very long."

For Ellen Goldsmith of Seal Beach, a second-generation kinder who attended with her mother from Burbank, Susi Goldsmith, the conference provided a place for kinship: "For me, this was an opportunity to pull together the pieces of the past to connect with my mom. And to connect with others."

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Dr. Michael Berenbaum speaks about a variety of Jewish issues from the past as well as in today's world on Sunday. Dr. Berenbaum was the closing keynote speaker at The Kindertransport Association 2012 conference, which was held at the Irvine Marriott over the weekend. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Peter Kollish, of Manhattan, New York, and Paul Wolff, of San Luis Obispo, from left, listen to Sunday's closing Keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Berenbaum. The conference was part of The Kindertransport Association 2012 conference, which was held at the Irvine Marriott over the weekend. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Steven Fogelson, his mother Hilda Fogelson, both from Studio City and brother George Fogelson of Redondo Beach, from left, listen to Sunday's closing Keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Berenbaum. The conference was part of The Kindertransport Association 2012 conference, which was held at the Irvine Marriott over the weekend. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Dr. Michael Berenbaum speaks about a variety of Jewish issues from the past as well as in today's world on Sunday. Dr. Berenbaum was the closing keynote speaker at The Kindertransport Association 2012 conference, which was held at the Irvine Marriott over the weekend.. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
A remembrance board of individuals involved with the Kindertransports on the eve of World War II who have since passed away was posted near the sign up table during The Kindertransport Association 2012 conference, which was held at the Irvine Marriott over the weekend.ear. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
A remembrance board of individuals involved with the Kindertransports on the eve of World War II who have since passed away was posted near the sign up table during The Kindertransport Association 2012 conference, which was held at the Irvine Marriott over the weekend. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Lillian Grosz, of Seattle, Washington, Christina Kollisch, of Springfield, Massachusetts, and Glen Haver, of Berkeley, from left, listen to Sunday's closing Keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Berenbaum. The conference was part of The Kindertransport Association 2012 conference, which was held at the Irvine Marriott over the weekend. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Peter Kollish, of Manhattan, New York, Paul Wolff, of San Luis Obispo, and Eleanor Rolfe, of Bellevue, Washington, from left, listen to Sunday's closing Keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Berenbaum. The conference was part of The Kindertransport Association 2012 conference, which was held at the Irvine Marriott over the weekend. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Steven Fogelson, his mother Hilda Fogelson, and brother George Fogelson, all from Studio City, from left, listen to Sunday's closing Keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Berenbaum. The conference was part of The Kindertransport Association 2012 conference, which was held at the Irvine Marriott over the weekend. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

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